WHAT A CYBERNETIC TRIATHLON HISTORY IS

History should be written to avoid falling into a trap (See Mental Fatigue, January 25, 2012, in this blog).  I went to a conference dictated by León-Portilla, Wikipedia says: Miguel León-Portilla (born in Mexico City, February 22, 1926) is a Mexican anthropologist and historian, and a prime authority on Nahuatl thought and literature.  During the conference, he mentioned: “I found an Aztec Codices in a remote village, but it was written in a “Scribe” notebook; I asked for the original and they answered: ‘We copied the old one into this scribe. It was impossible to keep the old one’…THIS IS HISTORY.”  
 

Human beings are getting faster for centuries.  In endurance sports athletes can compete for longer than an hour above 90% of their capacity.  VO2 max should be high and according to our training.  If we train slow pace, even if our VO2 max is high we compete at a slow pace (see VO2 Max and The Second Sin, February 26, 2012, in this blog).  As part of History, Victor Plata, our friend spoke about the need of teamwork in triathlon in and out of competition.  He even proofed that it works.  We have done it with our athletes since the beginning of our team.  The better the athletes understand and feel teamwork, the better the results.  Sports and live itself have become more and more tactical.  We need a good teamwork in order to achieve our dreams.  Without teamwork Cris Boardman would not break the record for the hour cycling or Armstrong would not win seven times in a row the Tour de France.  Gregory Bateson spoke about it in the 70’s, Mind and Nature, 1979.  “Too much schooling and little education” happens in sports also.  Lack of teamwork has to do with little education.

There is a good review of the record of the hour established by Boardman in the Triathlete Magazine of March 98, 167.

“As the media crowded around Boardman, his coach Keen urgently gestured at the instrument (thermometer) he held in his hand and motioned to the athlete to take his pants down… ‘For God’s sake, Peter, not in front of this people!’ screamed Boardman…The current male record of 56,375km required an average power output of 442 watts… For Boardman, this equates to 6.4 watts per kilogram… His VO2 max power relationship at a cadence of 100 rpm.”

More information to stress the point.

Tour de France winners and their average speeds

By VeloNews.com

Published Jul. 24, 2011

http://velonews.competitor.com/2011/07/news/186088_186088

    2011 3431km, (2144m); 198 starters, 167 finishers (84%); Winner: Cadel EVANS, 34, avg: 39.8 kph (24.9 mph)

    2010 3642km, (2276m); 197 starters, 170 finishers (86%); Winner: Alberto CONTADOR, 27, avg: 39.6 kph (24.7 mph)

    2009 3459km, (2162m); 180 starters, 156 finishers (87%); Winner: Alberto CONTADOR, 26, avg: 40.3 kph (25.2 mph)

    2008 3559km, (2224m); 180 starters, 145 finishers (81%); Winner: Carlos SASTRE, 33, avg: 40.5 kph (25.3 mph)

    2007 3570km, (2231m); 189 starters, 141 finishers (75%); Winner: Alberto CONTADOR, 24, avg: 39.2 kph (24.5 mph)

    2006 3657km, (2286m); 176 starters, 139 finishers (79%); Winner: Oscar PEREIRO, 30, avg: 40.8 kph (25.5 mph)

    2005 3593km, (2246m); 189 starters, 155 finishers (82%); Winner: Lance ARMSTRONG, 34, avg: 41.7 kph (26 mph)

    2004 3391km, (2119m); 188 starters, 147 finishers (78%); Winner: Lance ARMSTRONG, 33, avg: 40.6 kph (25.3 mph)

    2003 3427km, (2142m); 198 starters, 147 finishers (74%); Winner: Lance ARMSTRONG, 32, avg: 40.9 kph (25.6 mph)

    2002 3278km, (2049m); 189 starters, 153 finishers (81%); Winner: Lance ARMSTRONG, 31, avg: 39.9 kph (25 mph)

    2001 3458km, (2161m); 189 starters, 144 finishers (76%); Winner: Lance ARMSTRONG, 30, avg: 40.1 kph (25 mph)

    2000 3662km, (2289m); 177 starters, 128 finishers (72%); Winner: Lance ARMSTRONG, 29, avg: 39.6 kph (24.7 mph)

    1999 3870km, (2419m); 180 starters, 141 finishers (78%); Winner: Lance ARMSTRONG, 28, avg: 40.3 kph (25.2 mph)

    1998 3875km, (2422m); 189 starters, 96 finishers (51%); Winner: Marco PANTANI, 28, avg: 40 kph (25 mph)

    1997 3950km, (2469m); 198 starters, 139 finishers (70%); Winner: Jan ULLRICH, 24, avg: 39.2 kph (24.5 mph)

    1996 3765km, (2353m); 198 starters, 129 finishers (65%); Winner: Bjarne RIIS, 32, avg: 39.2 kph (24.5 mph)

    1995 3635km, (2272m); 189 starters, 115 finishers (61%); Winner: Miguel INDURAIN, 31, avg: 39.2 kph (24.5 mph)
     
Triathlon

Brownlee Alistair 29:49 2011 Beijing

Brownlee Alistair 30:00  2010 Budapest

Brownlee Alistair 29:04 2009 Gold Coast

Gómez Javier        31:38 2008 Vancouver

Gómez Javier       29:42 2007 Hamburg

Tim Don                30:47 2006 Lausanne

Robertson             31:35 2005 Gamagori

Docherty               29:54 2004 Madeira       

Robertson             33:44 2003 Queenstown

Raña                      32:05 2002 Cancún

Robertson             31:55 2001 Edmonton

Marceau                31:43 2000 Perth

Gaag                      31:27 1999 Montreal 

Since the 70’s Gregory Bateson spoke about “lack of education” in California, in front of The Committee of Education Policy, July 20, 1978, a year before he died:

“I REMARK THAT CURRENT EDUCATIONAL PROCESS ARE A ‘RIP OFF.’ FROM THE POINT OF VIEW OF THE STUDENT…

It is a matter of obsolesce.  While much of the Universities teach today is new and up-to date, the presupposition or premises of thought upon all teaching is based are ancient and, I assert, obsolete...The premises are obsolete in that systems theory, cybernetics, holistic medicine, ecology and gestalt psychology offer demonstrably better ways of understanding the world of biology and behavior (235-236).”

So what? I have heard this expression before.  Why triathletes are running faster?  Before “the bicycle drafting era,” meaning before 1999, the year when the first Triathlon World Championship drafting took place, in Montreal. Simon Lessing dominated the world of triathlon; Macca was one of the fastest runners and had a world title. They were runners of above 32 for the 10k in triathlon.  The personal best of Lessing was 31:31 drafting at Montreal.  The drafting format was necessary to be admitted as a sport in the Olympics and the ITU decided to introduce the format a year before the Olympics.  The “Villeneuve” was the perfect place for the fastest triathlon in 1999, a Formula One road, flat.  Triathlon became more tactical and for that reason the triathlete needed to be better educated. One of the reasons why triathletes are running faster is the drafting format 

 

Triathlete Magazine. 188. December 1999.

Besides tactics, technique has improved in many triathletes after Montreal. Triathletes were swimmer, now-a-day they need to be triathletes since the beginning.  Victor Plata says: “train as a swimmer, train as a ‘rodie’ and train as a runner.”

One can see the Brownlee running in the picture below.  Alistair has a personal best below 29 min in 10k just running without bicycling and swimming.  Less than 0.02 seconds touching the ground each foot is needed to do less than 29 minutes regardless of what you do.  Watch Lessing, he needs to turn his feet down, passes his hip and then pushes himself to take another step.  It is impossible to do 0.02 seconds on the ground with so many maneuvers.  The same thing bicycling, I have not seen somebody going fast sitting at the end of the saddle; on the contrary, as Phil Liggett says: “on the rivet.”  Sitting on the rivet is the only way to keep a high cadence.

31:31 Lessing running. Montreal 1999.

Bicycling has also improved.  Jenkins averaged around 340 watts in Beijing Olympic Games working as a “domestique” for Whitfield, leading the race.  Vidal produces almost the same amount of watts riding “comfortably” in the peloton in the ITU races this year.  This says much about tactics and way of training to have an edge over the competitor.

DEPENDING ON HOW YOU WANT TO MAKE HISTORY YOU CAN SUCCEED OR FAIL.   HOW YOU MAKE HISTORY PLAYS A MAJOR ROLE IN YOUR OUTCOME.  Remember Bateson!